Christmas A Go Go!

Christmas ain't what it should be without a new Clean Pete Christmas tune. And this year the heat is on, because our Dutch blog favs promised to even delight us with two tracks! And talking about heat ... well, what about the first one? This version of 'Stille Nacht' (Silent Night) is far from a holy night. In fact, it sounds like quiet a steamy night. Together with Maaike Ouboters beautiful soft voice, Clean Pete takes us into the night. A sultry night of sweet secrets and silent wishes, a night in which you may dream and long and who knows what else. Who knows. Or, to put it in their own words: " Feel like being seduced into heaven? " Good heavens, hell yeah! Out officialy tommorrow , but already at Christmas A Go Go now! Hopefully Santa won't make us wait too long for the second track. Wanna see these angels live? Join in to a Clean Pete Kersthow in Amsterdam , Groningen , Nijmegen or Utrecht . Maaike Ouboter - among others - will be there too. Clean Pete ...

Last time, Marqui wrote his raving review of a Clean Pete Christmas show in Dutch, this time I'll try and spell it out in English. This was the first of four shows , spread all over The Netherlands. Next year, there's gonna be even more shows if all goes well. Boxmeer 's favourite Christmas angels are spreading the seasonal cheer more and more and more, which is a good thing. And if they keep up this standard, it can only get bigger. Loes Wijnhoven (not the cello-player, that's her sister Renée) was joking half way on stage of de Kleine Komedie (a snug little theater that holds about 500): 'How's Joop van den Ende doing this?!' Which translates something like: how do they do those big Christmas shows in those big theaters, produced by big wig producers (like Joop van den Ende is). And one could understand her (not so serious) lamentation: the audience in Amsterdam got a choir, multiple costume changes, a band with a saxophone and two string players, ha...

Announced on their own Insta as ' next friday Christmas angels coming your way ', but already tonight as a late night world premiere on CAGG! For their second Christmas single this year (first one here ), Clean Pete enlisted the help of fellow angel Judy Blank, who herself already released two Christmas tracks this year too ( there and there ). And it almost threatens to become monotonous when talking about the Dutch Christmas Queens, but with 'Solovlieger' they manage to fire another Christmas classic in the making at us. An intro with a variation on the Jingle Bells theme kicks off a moody song that slightly desperately seeks solace with Santa Claus, the only man who truly understands them. Judy, normally singing in English, also sounds soft as red velvet in Dutch and is a perfect addition to the Clean Pete sound. What a nice present it would be if Judy would still fly in at the Clean Pete Christmas shows. Dear Santa, what presents have you bought, I've been so ...

As y'all might know, we have a very weak spot for certain artists here at CAGG. And for those artists we are always just a bit more excited when their new Christmas single drops. Same goes for Clean Pete, the Dutch singer-songwriter pop duo with an obsessively big Christmas heart. Last year their angelic voices were the reason that CAGG even woke up a bit earlier from it's coma than usual, because they released their brilliant Christmas album Gloria at the end of october already. An album that, even though completely in Dutch, finally reached an incredibly place six at the Rolling Stone 2019 Christmas album of the year list! The Dutch twins (temporarily with three as cellist Renée is expecting her first child) have also made a habit of giving intense and dazzling Christmas live shows . Too bad they have to go in a slimmed down, adapted form due to corona this year. But nevertheless most of the shows got sold out within one minute, no joke. And guess which lucky fellow owns ...

Our patience was tested a tiny bit this year, but now it's finally here: the long-awaited new Christmas duet from blog darlings Clean Pete. Tomorrow the official release, today already exclusive on Christmas A Go Go. After duets with a number of fellow angels in recent years ( Judy Blank , Maaike Ouboter and Robin Kester ), a male duet singer has been chosen this time. And lo and behold: right away it's hullabaloo immediately and hearts are being broken. Thanks Tim! So don't let the song title fool you, because 'De Mooiste Tijd Van Het Jaar' (Most Wonderful Time Of The Year), doesn't apply to either of the two ex-lovers in this compelling song. Their love turned as cold as the ice on the roof under which they once slept together. If only Christmas could be skipped this year... A beautiful Christmas duet dripping with melancholy and heartache for a love that is no longer there. The choice of Tim Knol , a famous Dutch singer-songwriter, also works out very well. ...

(This concert review of Clean Pete's Christmas show goes in Dutch, sorry folks.) In de afgelopen weken tuimelde bijna de voltallige Nederlandse (muziek)pers over elkaar heen om in superlatieven te spreken over wat we hier bij Christmas A Go Go! stiekem al jarenlang weten: Loes en Renée Wijnhoven delen gewoon de allerlekkerste Christmas treats uit. De tweeling met de charmante Brabantse tongval weet muzikaal, maar zeker ook tekstueel precies de juiste Kerstsnaar te raken. Ze verstaan de kunst om de tristesse en blues die er onmiskenbaar ook om Kerst heen hangt, luchtig en vanzelfsprekend te mixen met hoop, humor en heimwee naar dat échte Kerstgevoel. Verloren en onbereikbare liefdes, hang naar een gevoel van, ja van wat eigenlijk en verlangen. Het wordt allemaal in maar liefst dertien nummers gevangen op hun heerlijke Kerstalbum Gloria. En ze doen dat zonder ook maar ergens te cheesy te worden of in gemakzuchtige Christmas bashing te vervallen. Want hoe tragi-komisch sommige t...

Now this is a special one. We're having a world toilet premiere here at CAGG! Anyone who visited one of the Clean Pete Christmas Shows last year will undoubtedly remember Mark Lohmann performing this song and now he is officially releasing this remarkable track (tomorrow actually, but we had the honor of sharing it with you already today). Mark Lohmann , who also makes music under the moniker Moon Moon Moon , wrote this therapeutic self-help song about the panic attack he had right before he had to perform during a previous Clean Pete Christmas show in concert hall Doornroosje . As a result, he fled to the backstage toilet and actually didn't want to leave it anymore. Uncertainty about whether he was good enough, well dressed enough, handsome enough, funny enough and so on, made him no longer dare to perform. Until - in this song - his own self, two hours older, bangs on the toilet door and tells him to stop comparing himself to others and just be 100% himself. Yes, a pretty l...

For all you Dutchies out there (or if you don't mind listening to the Dutch language), this gorgeous, tittilating song about being seduced at the Christmas dinner table by duo Clean Pete and master guitar player Anne Soldaat. You might recall Clean Pete from this grand trac k from last year.

The return of blog favs Clean Pete didn't last too long this year, as they already released their new Christmas track 'Ja en amen' (Yes and amen) last wednesday. It's a collab with fellow Dutchie Stephanie Struijk , who you might know from earlier entrances at our blog, or maybe of her majestic appearance at our Christmas A GoGo fest in Paradiso Amsterdam last year. But let's get back to this great track. The original, Country Christmas by Loretta Lynn, dates from 1966 and this temporary trio stayed pretty close to that, so it remained a darn fine country song with which the Christmas crush twin sisters Loes and Renée have added a tasty new flavor to their seemingly endless Christmas music palette. Finally this hillbilly track feels like a delicate rodeo on reindeer, cause "I don't want any hassle at Christmas this year, so put on your Christmas gear and do something romantic for once my dear" . Yeehaw and amen! This track is on their second full-le...

What were the Bestest New Christmas Songs of 2022, you ask? We got 'm all lined up in THIS Spotify playlist . Mostly originals, but a with sprinkle of covers (Katy Kirby! Bjear!) and reworks (Clean Pete!). Heck, it's even two versions of the same song this year. Tried to show the big variety in Christmas music by adding the punk of Chubby & the Gang, the jazz of Wouter Hamel, the orchestration of Bjear, a dash of French tracks, country, cabaret, a song over nine minutes long (you guessed it, SABERTOOTH UNICORN!) and of course that funny little ditty by Wicketkeeper. A few highlights, in a big starry night of great Christmas music: The Dutchies were in fine form this year, we featured a lot (Clean Pete, S.Lois, Gerhardt, Ro Halfhide, and more). One track that rocked our Xmas boat was 'Je hoeft niet mee naar mijn ouders' by Linde Schöne, from her truly FUN pop album. Linde is the Christmas-spiritual sis of the Clean Pete duo, in that she luuuurves the season, wa...

So if there only was one more thing we were looking forward to this end of year, it probably was this years Christmas single from blog favorites Clean Pete. And the wait has been rewarded, because today they unleash their new single on us and manage to move us with an arrangement of the 16th century traditional 'Coventry Carol', which they transformed into the delicate 'Slaap Diep, Slaap Zacht' for this occasion. For that, the twin sisters have enlisted the help of Robin Kester, who released this beautiful Christmas track 'Small Christmas Tree' last year. Robin Kester, making records on Holland's finest indie label At Ease , is blessed with a voice as enchanting as our favorite Christmas angels, so what could possibly go wrong? Well, nothing. The song is subdued, but rich with softly ringing and fanning guitars, and hushed by the moody cello and mesmerizing tambourine. Renée, Loes and Robins voices blend wonderfully together, as if Robin is the third long-...

With - again - the words "Hey Mark" the never-ending saga between Loes Wijnhoven of Clean Pete and Mark Lohmann enters their next Christmas chapter. But ever since Loes managed to persuade Mark back in 2018 to write a Christmas song together in front of the fireplace at Christmas Eve, six years later things haven't improved very much. Because with 'Samen Kerst / Liever Alleen' (Christmas Together / Rather Alone) they recorded a variation on 'Baby, It's Cold Outside', the classic by Frank Loesser from 1944 and it has become another painful affair between these two. It's a kind of Q&A song through the telephone with lyrically opposing choruses, because he doesn't want to celebrate Christmas with her, while she desperately tries to persuade him to do so. And despite Loes' seductive dancing in her glitter dress and blowing kisses to the camera in a final attempt to change Mark's mind, he sighs and even disconnects. You have to dare. ...

Holland Rocks! First, we had the scoop of ms Stevie Ann's Christmas EP . Now Dutch record label Excelsior , a company that releases a quality Christmas tune for a few years now, throws out two grand Christmas tunes. Female duo Clean Pete teamed up with singer Niek of the brilliant garage soul band Afterpartees for a duet that's reminiscent of the great Pogues/Kirsty MacColl team up. Scroll down for more! Video: UPDATE: Afterpartees also recorded a Christmas tune! Earlier Excelsior-released Christmas music was by The Kik , Tangarine and this cool compilation .

The number of internal references in this blog post pretty much says it all: Clean Pete has been reviewed a lot here at Christmas A GoGo. And not without reason, because the two Christmas angels Loes and Renée have taken Christmas music in the Netherlands to a much higher level in their own way. Today they released their second Christmas album, after the acclaimed Gloria from 2019 that even made it to number 6 in the Rolling Stone Christmas release chart as a Dutch-language album.  Winternacht (Winter Night), their second full length album contains many tracks that they've released in recent years, such as these ones with Maaike Ouboter , with Judy Blank , with Tim Knol , Stephanie Struijk , Robin Kester and Mark Lohmann . But there is still plenty of new songs left to enjoy, such as the atmospheric opening 'O come, Emmanuel', accompanied with heavenly harp playing by Remy van Kesteren. The impressive Piëta, which Renée previously played on their famous Christmas shows,...

Christmas Eve is nigh and the well of really good original 2023 Christmas songs is more and more running dry. The right time to take stock and see which Christmas songs stood out this year. Completely arbitrary as always, but here we go: it's year list time!    MARQUI:  NL 1. The Slow Clock ft. Amarins - Christmas In A Bottle 2. Marike Jager - Love Me One More Night (It's Christmas) 3. Clean Pete & Tim Knol - De Mooiste Tijd Van Het Jaar 4. Bony Macaroni - December 25th (The Morning After) 5. Silent Runners - Baby I'm Cold Inside OTHER 1. pen pin - Office Party 2. the content (braden rapp) - Xmaseves (Merry Christmas, Now I'm Leavin') 3. Pomme - _dec carte de noel 4. UPSAHL - Snowglobe 5. Swansea Sound - Santa Bail Me Out Hors catégorie: the extended version of Mark Lohmann's bloody honest and vulnerable kinda Christmas song ' Doornroosje '. ===    GUUZBOURG:  NL 1. Double Cream (DeWolff & Dawn Brothers) - Christmas On The Moon / Stea...

FINALLY a brand spankin' new DUTCH Christmas song. Sung by girl duo Clean Pete and Marien Dorleijn (he of the band Moss). 'Gaan we kerstmis samen vieren' (Are we gonna celebrate Christmas together) winks at 'Dream a Little Dream of Me', which is nice.

Hiy'all. Usually, we fire up the blog on November 1. But since the lovely girls of Clean Pete decided to release their brilliant Dutch take on God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen today, we had no choice but follow. Now, Clean Pete, you might remember them from this Christmas track . Or this one . You might have visited their Xmas shows (two coming up in Decemer). Even if Dutch is not your language, you have to admire their lush voices, and the effort they take to make original takes on Christmas songs. Dutch male vocal hero Thijs Boontjes joins the CP-duo. On the album, to be released late November, the earlier singles appear (everyting in Dutch), duets with comedian Stefano Keizers, jazz singer Ruben Hein, folkster Lucky Fonz and a few tracks without back up singers. We've already heard it, and think it's B R I L L I A N T. Really. All reworked versions of known carols, xmas pop hits and more. Something to look out for, surely.

Short notes on recently released songs: Dutch queens of Christmas Clean Pete released another new track, in time for their upcoming Xmas tour . This song is called 'In de koude winter' that nods to 'In the bleak midwinter'. Love the spacey synths: Clean Pete · In de koude winter From Staten Island, NY, Louvers writes about this retro-song: 'A nostalgic dive into the days of VHS tapes, Super NES marathons, handwritten cards, incandescent lights, and long holiday drives home. It’s a warm, bittersweet wish for snow, simpler times, and the kind of Christmas magic you can’t quite wrap up anymore.' You got us at 'VHS tapes': Retro Christmas by Louvers This needs some explaining. Skinwigs is a comedy chat podcast by Sam O'Leary and Ashlynne Tyson. They made a parody Christmas song, referring to Lily Allen's latest album , which is all about her marriage breaking down (and it's a fantastic album, by the way): A song titled 'S...

Yeah, you're right, we already posted on Clean Pete earlier this year (and others). But hey, they just leave us no other choice than do it once again. And with full pleasure that is, because there's a brand new video, shot in one of the most beautiful locations of Nijmegen; the Valkhofkapel (St. Nicholas Chapel). In this chapel, built around the year 1000 and thus the perfect setting for an interpretation of the Coventry Carol from 1600, they played a very tender live version of 'Slaap Diep, Slaap Zacht'. Can things get more Christmassy?

Quick round-up of recent Dutch additions to the Christmas canon: Blackbird, she who will shine like a diamond on the upcoming CAGG Night in Paradiso , released her Christmas EP on green vinyl today . It features tracks that we know (like this one , and this one ), and also an acoustic version of this New Year's song: Douwe Bob & Miss Montreal's Please Just Come Home is a ballad with a slight country-vibe, with a universal feeling of longing (all good Xmas songs are about longing, as you know) and the bells to make it seasonal. Miss Montreal knows a thing or two about writing original Christmas tunes, her 'Being Alone at Christmas' is considered a Dutch Xmas classic. She also wrote Christmas Hearts . Not an original, but a Mexican rocking version of the ole Feliz Navidad by Dutch Xmas queen Judy Blank (she of California Christmas ) from an EP called Season's Beatings with more covers, by the Beach Boys for instance. Blanko & Ellen ten Damme, th...